Schneider: “We are pleased with the way things are going”

Seahawks general manager John Schneider said during an appearance on ESPN 710 Seattle this morning that the NFL free agency period has gone pretty much the way the team scripted it a while ago.

Seattle has not been able to retain some notable players, such as WR Golden Tate and DE Red Bryant, while so far signing only three players from outside teams, each to relatively small deals.

But Schneider reiterated that the relative lack of activity was all part of the team’s plan to be able to save up salary cap money to extend some of its core players down the road. Seattle has $14.9 million in cap room, according to the latest NFLPA figures.

“What I would say is we are pleased with the way things are going,” Schneider said. “The way they have gone is part of the model that we have created over the last year-and-a-half. So we expected some attrition along the way. It’s always very hard to make those decisions and move forward. But we are very excited about the younger players we have on this team. We are excited to get the Greg Scruggs’ back playing, and Tharold Simon and, shoot, the Super Bowl MVP (Malcolm Smith) is a pretty good player. We are really excited about the young core of players that we have.”

Schneider also mentioned that the Seahawks barely used what he called “two of our most explosive offensive players” in Percy Harvin and Christine Michael.

“We are blessed enough to have a young, talented team and we need to be able to plan accordingly to be able to reward those players,” he said.

Schneider was on ESPN 710 Seattle primarily to speak about his work with Ben’s Fund, Schneider’s foundation which helps families with children who have autism. Included is an on-line auction raising funds for the charity.